With the help of an off-the-shelf Emotiv brain-computer ($299) — a wireless head piece — researchers are able to track brain signals when someone is shown familiar messages. For example, scientists asked subjects to wear the device in front a computer screen that displayed a series of banks, maps and PIN numbers. A specific signal called P300 is omitted in the brain when someone recognizes a message, making it easier for researchers to cut down on random data points.

“The captured EEG signal could reveal the user’s private information about bank cards, PIN numbers, area of living and the knowledge of the known persons,” the researchers said in a statement. “This is the first attempt to study the security implications of consumer-grade BCI devices. We show that the entropy of the private information is decreased on the average by approximately 15% – 40% compared to random guessing attacks.”

Do you think this type of technology would be too vulnerable to hackers and could be used for more bad than good? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.